Lenny: I can’t rant about the Celtic way
NEIL LENNON confesses he sometimes needs to remind himself that he is not working with a squad of the calibre of Celtic when assessing their displays.
Nevertheless, the Hibernian head coach insists he cannot allow the Easter Road side to slip into the same malaise that ruined their Championship charge last season.
While Hibs have sparkled against city rivals Hearts, dumping them out of the Scottish Cup win a 3-1 triumph in Leith, they have stumbled on league duty, failing to win any of their last four matches.
Lennon lambasted his side following a recent draw against Raith Rovers, but was more reserved after Wednesday evening’s 2-0 defeat against rock-bottom St Mirren – and he acknowledges that the consistency required as boss of the Hoops is not likely with Hibs.
But he is adamant there will be no repeat of the run of two wins in 10 outings between February and April last season when Alan Stubbs’ side were also battling on two fronts.
He said: “We’re not Celtic, and at times I have to realise that myself as well. I’ve got a good bunch. We are going to have inconsistencies.
“That’s why I wasn’t too hard on them after the St Mirren game. It was our first defeat in three months, so the consistency has been there over the piece.
“But this time last year we went on a run in the league of eight games without a win, so we have to nip that in the bud as quickly as possible.”
This afternoon, however, the focus is on retaining the Scottish Cup, with Ayr the visitors to the capital with a place in the semi-final at Hampden on the line.
Lennon, who confirmed that Liam Fontaine is likely to miss two months due to ankle surgery, continued: “I’m greedy – I’d like to win both.
“But we’ll need to play better than what we’ve shown in the league over the past couple of weeks.
“I want us to be strong and forceful and play as strongly as we did against Hearts. It’s a great incentive for the players. Having tasted it last year, they know what it’s like to win a major trophy and that’s a great thing.”